It is true. I had this strong feeling that an invisible weight has been lifted off me just after one week of opting to turn into a full-time vegetarian (on 9th April).
Even stranger - several negative feelings had just dissipated into thin air.
At the top of the list was the mysterious disappearance of that gnawing need of wanting to murder irritants that cross my path (this includes the unidentified balcony-crapping-cat). There there was the lack of anxiety about upcoming events.
Turning vegetarian was a decision made with much trepidation. On top of the still-present dominant yearning for butter prawns, mouth-watering rojak and thick fish curry, I had assumed it would be a rocky road. It has proven to be otherwise.
It’s not like a miracle has occurred where I no longer have cravings for calamari rings done just right or spicy chicken peretal. Fortunately for mua, there are many vegetarian substitutes that keep my cravings under control. Like vegetarian rice served with hot pungent spicy petai & vegetarian pan mee that I can devour right here in Taipan.
Which brings to mind what the Bhagavad Gita says. What is bitter at the starts turns into nectar at the end, and vice versa.
Speaking of religion, my Vedanta Class teacher insists that vegetarians can knock off into the dreamland a whole lot faster.
A quick google revealed that some vegetarians had better sleep, i.e., they felt more rested. Others begged to differ on the matter. I still toss and turn as a million thots swirl in my agitated meat-deprived mind.
The well-read guruji had more to impart, sorta dashing my hopes of being way more satvic (i.e it’s like being more pure, unblemished, like a brand new unused whiteboard) as there is way more to being vegetarian than meets the eye.
None had warned me that by foregoing meat, I would be at the foothills of a brand new unexplored mountain. Instead of like a valiant conqueror at the peak.
Here are some of the things that I picked up during the Vedanta class and from my fav source – the Internet:
· Cooked food should be consumed within four hours.
If I do follow it, it means I’d have to rule out the popular pungent Indian pickles, Chinese pickled vegetables, pre-cooked food, fried tempeh, potato chips, etc. Groan!
· Spicy and sour vegetarian fare does quite not fall under the satvic category.
Double sigh!
· Onion and garlic, along with a host of other favs, ignites passion. Which gets in the way of meditation. Which is what leads to enlightenment. Which, as a Hindu, is what I need to break this cycle of life and birth. Triple darn!
To follow or not to follow the new rules?
It remains to be seen. It is a major achievement for me to have given up meat. Doesn’t mean I’m going to give it all up be satvic immediately. Or should I?
What would you do?
Friday, April 30, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Hardcore Meat Eater Turns Part-Time Vegetarian
“Never! Not in this lifetime!” My thots on being a vegetarian as a teenage me watched a docile couple nibble on a salad whilst a roomful of guests gorged on succulent meat.
The scene has taken a 360 degree turn as I now contemplate going vegetarian full-time. To date, I’ve only done, like a 180 degree turn. So no dizzy spells. Does anyone quit meat cold turkey? One of my sisters did.
I remember the day all too clearly as she voiced her intention during a meal. Followed by a nasty scolding cos my mother and I didn’t jump on the rather bland sounding green bandwagon.
My journey towards giving up eating dead animals started out for very specific reasons.
The first tentative toe tested the waters 20 years ago when I started the Saturday-evening-at-the-temple routine. These visits meant I had to go vegetarian. Why, you ask?
Was it for the clean aura, to be able to meditate better or an age old custom? Heck no! It’s cos God gave me a taste of what would happen if I ate meat on those days. Here’s what transpired.
Tis was a sunny morning after a short visit to the powerful Shivan temple atop Gasing Hill that my meat obsessed family descended on Lotus for breakfast.
As the waiter left the devil, I mean the fish curry on our table, my devious mind went into overdrive, rationalizing that since I had already paid God a visit, it would be okay to flood my roti chanai with the irresistible rich floating tempting mix of brown spices. Right?
It was not as if I was about to eat the actual fish. Horrors! Of course not! With that, any lingering guilt was washed away as I slurped down on the yummy fish curry.
A couple of hours later that tinge of guilt turned into agoanizing regret as waves of the most vicious acid on earth rolled about my sensitive tummy linings. As I gasped in unbelievable pain, I thot that death would have been more preferable. No, I am not being dramatic!
I had had terrible gastric pain before, and believe you me, this was a trillion times worse. God has this way of teaching me unforgettable lessons that leaves its mark indented upon my stubborn brains.
Not that it stopped me from chewing on meaty dishes the very next day. Why would God punish me then as I hadn’t made a pact to go vegetarian on Sundays nor was I planning a visit to the temple.
Fast forward ten years later when I started to add on Tuesdays to my no meat list days. Then Thursday. Soon along came Friday to sit happily at the bottom of the list. All for one religious reason or another.
Whether I went to the temple or not I would forsake meat. Unless I travelled, which made things a bit challenging. Or so I thot. Certain photography outings with staunch vegetarians left me feeling truly shameful of my lackadaisical attitude. For these people proved that you can always manage no matter where you are with whatever food available.
Just a month ago, I felt I should give up chicken. I’ll save the why story for another day. It’s a done deal. All chickens need not worry for their lives around me. Now, their eggs, that’s a different matter … isn’t it?
A friend went “Jeez! What’s wrong with chicken?” when I told her about it. I had known from the start that meals with the staunch old meatarians were going to be interesting.
I expect them to dish out support, surprise, awe (even I’m still getting used to the non-chicken eating me) and I’m sure, a little irritation as I won’t be patronizing certain restaurants anymore.
Tomorrow, I am going to let some old pals know I will soon be a full-time vegetarian. The reactions should be interesting.
I have made this crucial decision yet I feel like I’m standing at the edge of a high cliff. If only there was an environment-friendly escalator that could speed forward past all niggling obstacles. The Bhagavad Gita says that all good things have a bitter start. That gives me faith.
Want to join my vegetarian journey with me?
The scene has taken a 360 degree turn as I now contemplate going vegetarian full-time. To date, I’ve only done, like a 180 degree turn. So no dizzy spells. Does anyone quit meat cold turkey? One of my sisters did.
I remember the day all too clearly as she voiced her intention during a meal. Followed by a nasty scolding cos my mother and I didn’t jump on the rather bland sounding green bandwagon.
My journey towards giving up eating dead animals started out for very specific reasons.
The first tentative toe tested the waters 20 years ago when I started the Saturday-evening-at-the-temple routine. These visits meant I had to go vegetarian. Why, you ask?
Was it for the clean aura, to be able to meditate better or an age old custom? Heck no! It’s cos God gave me a taste of what would happen if I ate meat on those days. Here’s what transpired.
Tis was a sunny morning after a short visit to the powerful Shivan temple atop Gasing Hill that my meat obsessed family descended on Lotus for breakfast.
As the waiter left the devil, I mean the fish curry on our table, my devious mind went into overdrive, rationalizing that since I had already paid God a visit, it would be okay to flood my roti chanai with the irresistible rich floating tempting mix of brown spices. Right?
It was not as if I was about to eat the actual fish. Horrors! Of course not! With that, any lingering guilt was washed away as I slurped down on the yummy fish curry.
A couple of hours later that tinge of guilt turned into agoanizing regret as waves of the most vicious acid on earth rolled about my sensitive tummy linings. As I gasped in unbelievable pain, I thot that death would have been more preferable. No, I am not being dramatic!
I had had terrible gastric pain before, and believe you me, this was a trillion times worse. God has this way of teaching me unforgettable lessons that leaves its mark indented upon my stubborn brains.
Not that it stopped me from chewing on meaty dishes the very next day. Why would God punish me then as I hadn’t made a pact to go vegetarian on Sundays nor was I planning a visit to the temple.
Fast forward ten years later when I started to add on Tuesdays to my no meat list days. Then Thursday. Soon along came Friday to sit happily at the bottom of the list. All for one religious reason or another.
Whether I went to the temple or not I would forsake meat. Unless I travelled, which made things a bit challenging. Or so I thot. Certain photography outings with staunch vegetarians left me feeling truly shameful of my lackadaisical attitude. For these people proved that you can always manage no matter where you are with whatever food available.
Just a month ago, I felt I should give up chicken. I’ll save the why story for another day. It’s a done deal. All chickens need not worry for their lives around me. Now, their eggs, that’s a different matter … isn’t it?
A friend went “Jeez! What’s wrong with chicken?” when I told her about it. I had known from the start that meals with the staunch old meatarians were going to be interesting.
I expect them to dish out support, surprise, awe (even I’m still getting used to the non-chicken eating me) and I’m sure, a little irritation as I won’t be patronizing certain restaurants anymore.
Tomorrow, I am going to let some old pals know I will soon be a full-time vegetarian. The reactions should be interesting.
I have made this crucial decision yet I feel like I’m standing at the edge of a high cliff. If only there was an environment-friendly escalator that could speed forward past all niggling obstacles. The Bhagavad Gita says that all good things have a bitter start. That gives me faith.
Want to join my vegetarian journey with me?
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Perhaps pretty faces can help READING
Snort, chuckle, roll eyes upwards. My first reaction when I read about Michelle Yeoh being picked to be a Malaysian reading ambassador.
So when Daphne Lee’s column yelled out that Pretty Faces Aren’t Enough for a reading ambassador, I could identify with her sentiments.
Though, in all fairness, well …. my initial reaction was not fair. For all I knew, the actress could be a voracious reader, lugging fat tomes around to devour between takes.
The article I first spotted on the subject stated that we already had one Malay reading ambassador (which I had been unaware of) and since the Chinese one had just been picked, someone was busy identifying an Indian one. Was this the way to reach out to our students?
The more I thought about it, the more, I had to reluctantly concede that it may result in some good.
Let’s be frank and examine what makes our schoolgoing children tick. We need to think of who they are, what influences them, what their mindsets are, who their role models are, etc.
By schoolgoing chidlren, I am referring to the 5.4 million schoolchildren enrolled under the Ministry of Education, not just kids from middle class onwards / urban areas / your community / your family.
Kids that come from homes that already practice a reading culture, would turn their cynical noses up at the whole idea. Given that they do not need help in this area, it is pointless to worry about them. It is the other lot, which would be the majority, that needs help.
When I think of the non-reading kids (from rural and urban areas) I had come in contact with in the past, I know that many of them will ape whatever a celebrity does, with nary a second thought. Same goes for some adults.
Which means that even if these ambassadors are able to only influence 10% of our 5.4 million schoolchildren, it is still an impressive figure.
A comment from an English Language teacher involved in a 3-month old reading programme in school flashes to mind. “Just getting them to hold a book in their hands is an achievement.”
Note how she has not even bothered about regular reading habits or understanding what is being read.
Which is why the amount of time Michelle Yeoh clocks in reading (for herself) is of no concern to me. But the amount of time she spends on this programme, moving from venue to venue to reach out to kids matters incredibly.
In that sense I do agree that she has to “be able to communicate ‘well and regularly’ with young people.” There has to be that pizzazz or “entertainment value” factor to stop a hall packed with schoolchildren from sleeping with their eyes wide open.
Sadly enough, knowing typical Malaysian students, they will always be far more impressed by a celebrity’s presence rather than a writer’s or illustrator’s.
Of course, it would be ideal if we could measure as to how effective our reading ambassadors are. Some sort of measurement tool should be utilized so that we can find out and improve on what works on our shores.
Now that we know the identity of two reading ambassadors, when will we be informed as to exactly what it is that they are going to do? Of course, I am also curious as to what the perks of being a reading ambassador in Malaysia is.
It is all tied in, isn’t it?
So when Daphne Lee’s column yelled out that Pretty Faces Aren’t Enough for a reading ambassador, I could identify with her sentiments.
Though, in all fairness, well …. my initial reaction was not fair. For all I knew, the actress could be a voracious reader, lugging fat tomes around to devour between takes.
The article I first spotted on the subject stated that we already had one Malay reading ambassador (which I had been unaware of) and since the Chinese one had just been picked, someone was busy identifying an Indian one. Was this the way to reach out to our students?
The more I thought about it, the more, I had to reluctantly concede that it may result in some good.
Let’s be frank and examine what makes our schoolgoing children tick. We need to think of who they are, what influences them, what their mindsets are, who their role models are, etc.
By schoolgoing chidlren, I am referring to the 5.4 million schoolchildren enrolled under the Ministry of Education, not just kids from middle class onwards / urban areas / your community / your family.
Kids that come from homes that already practice a reading culture, would turn their cynical noses up at the whole idea. Given that they do not need help in this area, it is pointless to worry about them. It is the other lot, which would be the majority, that needs help.
When I think of the non-reading kids (from rural and urban areas) I had come in contact with in the past, I know that many of them will ape whatever a celebrity does, with nary a second thought. Same goes for some adults.
Which means that even if these ambassadors are able to only influence 10% of our 5.4 million schoolchildren, it is still an impressive figure.
A comment from an English Language teacher involved in a 3-month old reading programme in school flashes to mind. “Just getting them to hold a book in their hands is an achievement.”
Note how she has not even bothered about regular reading habits or understanding what is being read.
Which is why the amount of time Michelle Yeoh clocks in reading (for herself) is of no concern to me. But the amount of time she spends on this programme, moving from venue to venue to reach out to kids matters incredibly.
In that sense I do agree that she has to “be able to communicate ‘well and regularly’ with young people.” There has to be that pizzazz or “entertainment value” factor to stop a hall packed with schoolchildren from sleeping with their eyes wide open.
Sadly enough, knowing typical Malaysian students, they will always be far more impressed by a celebrity’s presence rather than a writer’s or illustrator’s.
Of course, it would be ideal if we could measure as to how effective our reading ambassadors are. Some sort of measurement tool should be utilized so that we can find out and improve on what works on our shores.
Now that we know the identity of two reading ambassadors, when will we be informed as to exactly what it is that they are going to do? Of course, I am also curious as to what the perks of being a reading ambassador in Malaysia is.
It is all tied in, isn’t it?
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